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Safe Trip
Chile·Natural disasters

Chile natural hazards and disaster risk

Earthquakes, storms, volcanoes, floods, and wildfires. Combines the disaster sub-score with the active event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. The Field Manual covers the response protocols.

Disaster sub-score
0Extreme risk
Overall Safe Trip Score 59

Recent signals

  • earthquakeUSGStoday
    M 4.8 - 31 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile
    31 km NNW of Valparaíso, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGStoday
    M 4.9 - 43 km NW of Valparaíso, Chile
    43 km NW of Valparaíso, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGStoday
    M 6.0 - 33 km NW of Valparaíso, Chile
    33 km NW of Valparaíso, Chile
    Source →
    -5.0
  • earthquakeUSGSyesterday
    M 4.5 - 66 km SW of Atocha, Bolivia
    66 km SW of Atocha, Bolivia
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2d ago
    M 4.5 - 58 km NNE of Tocopilla, Chile
    58 km NNE of Tocopilla, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3d ago
    M 5.1 - 86 km S of Pacocha, Peru
    86 km S of Pacocha, Peru
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS5d ago
    M 5.1 - 26 km NE of Calama, Chile
    26 km NE of Calama, Chile
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS5d ago
    M 4.6 - 66 km W of Ovalle, Chile
    66 km W of Ovalle, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS5d ago
    M 4.7 - 98 km SSW of Calama, Chile
    98 km SSW of Calama, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS6d ago
    M 4.6 - 59 km E of Huara, Chile
    59 km E of Huara, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS6d ago
    M 4.8 - 10 km E of Calama, Chile
    10 km E of Calama, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS6d ago
    M 6.9 - 29 km ENE of Calama, Chile
    29 km ENE of Calama, Chile
    Source →
    -5.0
  • earthquakeUSGS1w ago
    M 4.6 - 64 km WNW of Corral, Chile
    64 km WNW of Corral, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.7 - 22 km SSW of La Tirana, Chile
    22 km SSW of La Tirana, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.5 - 97 km NNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    97 km NNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.5 - 92 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
    92 km SSE of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.8 - 71 km SSW of Ollagüe, Chile
    71 km SSW of Ollagüe, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.7 - 69 km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    69 km W of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS2w ago
    M 4.5 - 90 km WSW of Taltal, Chile
    90 km WSW of Taltal, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 4.8 - 43 km E of Salamanca, Chile
    43 km E of Salamanca, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 4.6 - 46 km WSW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
    46 km WSW of San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 4.7 - 7 km ENE of Cañete, Chile
    7 km ENE of Cañete, Chile
    Source →
    -1.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 5.5 - 27 km ENE of Cañete, Chile
    27 km ENE of Cañete, Chile
    Source →
    -3.0
  • earthquakeUSGS3w ago
    M 4.8 - 55 km NNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    55 km NNW of San Antonio de los Cobres, Argentina
    Source →
    -1.0

Foreign-ministry advisories

Practical guidance

What the disaster sub-score covers

Chile’s natural-disaster sub-score is 0/100 (high band). It combines the country’s long-term hazard exposure (fault lines, tropical cyclone tracks, volcanic chains, flood basins) with the live event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. A score drop usually means a specific recent event; baseline hazard exposure barely moves year over year. The events feed above shows what is currently active.

Seasonality matters more than the headline number

Most natural-hazard risk is seasonal. Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November (peak August to October). Pacific typhoon season is broadly May to October. Indian Ocean monsoon flooding peaks June to September in South Asia. North Atlantic storm surge weights winter months. Volcanic and seismic risk is non-seasonal but clusters geographically; a country’s baseline score factors this in, but your specific itinerary’s exposure depends on which region you visit. The country safety guide’s natural- hazards chapter breaks it down by region.

What to actually do

Three concrete steps that move you out of the “tourist who got caught in it” bucket: enrol in your government’s traveller-notification programme (STEP for US citizens, LOCATE for UK, Smartraveller subscription for AU) so embassies can reach you in a major incident; download offline maps of your destination before you arrive (Maps.me or Google Maps offline) because mobile networks fail first in most disasters; and read the relevant Field Manual response guide for the specific hazard your destination carries. How to survive an earthquake while travelling and the wildfire, flood, and hurricane equivalents are linked from the relevant country safety guides.

Related for Chile

Long-form context

Travelling safely in Chile

Chile is one of the safest countries in Latin America by every general crime measure and operates as the most-developed traveller infrastructure in South America. The risks are concentrated and specific: the Santiago petty-crime baseline that has risen materially since 2019, the world’s most active subduction-zone earthquake exposure on the Pacific coast, the Atacama altitude profile, the rapidly-changing Patagonian weather window, and a lingering 2019 social-protest legacy that occasionally produces street disorder around Plaza Baquedano. This guide unpacks the SHOA tsunami warning system, the Santiago barrio map, the Atacama acclimatisation logic, the Patagonian weather window, and the practical contacts that shape a Chilean itinerary.

14 min read →

Frequently asked about Chile

What natural hazards affect Chile?

Chile's natural-disaster sub-score is 0/100. It combines long-term hazard exposure (fault lines, tropical cyclone tracks, volcanic chains, flood basins) with the live event feed from USGS, NOAA, NHC, JMA, GVP, and regional agencies. Currently active events are listed in the recent-signals feed above.

When is hurricane / typhoon season in Chile?

Atlantic hurricane season runs June through November (peak August to October). Pacific typhoon season is broadly May to October. Indian Ocean cyclone season splits between November to April (southern hemisphere) and April to December (Bay of Bengal). Chile's specific exposure window is documented in the country safety guide.

What should I do if a natural disaster happens while I am in Chile?

Three concrete steps before you go: enrol in your government's traveller-notification programme (STEP for US, LOCATE for UK, Smartraveller subscription for AU), download offline maps because mobile networks fail first in major incidents, and read the relevant Field Manual response guide (earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, flood) for the specific hazard your destination carries.